Gray-New Gloucester’s Spencer Harriman gave his team a narrow, 30-28, lead from the line early in the third quarter Saturday afternoon, a lead the Patriots would ultimately hold on to. But it was teammate Andreas Koriatis who posted G-NG’s biggest number, 15, including six in the critical fourth quarter, when the Pats broke open the play and sealed their 57-52 W.

Gray-New Gloucester has had their share of troubles this year; the home-court victory bumps them to just 3-11 on the season. The Falcons have struggled as well, however; Saturday’s loss drops them to 1-13.

“Ball movement,” Patriots head coach Ryan Deschenes said of the key to his boys’ fourth-quarter success. “We started moving the ball very well, we found the openings in their zones. Zones have been a weakness of ours this year, but we really stepped up in that third, fourth quarter.

“We got great looks; we weren’t depending on outside shooting. We transitioned well, and we were able to hold them well in our zone, defensively.”

Freeport hopped on the scoreboard first, Chandler Birmingham dishing to Brady LaFrance for two; soon, however, G-NG skipped ahead on buckets by Koriartis and JT Magno. For the next 24 minutes, play ebbed and flowed, though the Patriots managed to maintain a consistent edge.

Particularly strong play by Brendan Qualls kept the Falcons close; Qualls scattered six threes throughout the game, as well as a pair of twos and four (of six) free-throws, assembling a 26-point performance, the single best by any player on either team.

Alongside Jack Davenport, who tallied 13, Qualls brought Freeport back from multiple deficits. The duo eliminated a 19-12 disadvantage, tying at 20, and temporarily seized a 22-20 lead. In the early third they tied the score again, this time at 28, and in the late third/early fourth, they fought back – with Birmingham’s help at the line – from an eight-point, 40-32 disadvantage, to a mere two-points shortfall, 42-40.

“For us to be successful,” Cook said of Qualls’s play, “We’ve got to have more than one man shooting the ball well. It seems like we’ve kind of been snake-bitten, all year long; we’ll have one guy that’s on, and no one else is. Jack was able to get the ball to the rim – he did a great job for us, but even more than two people; we need more contribution than that.”

But the Patriots then found the groove they’d been seeking all game. Led by Koriatis, Magno and Zack Haskell, the squad built their best run yet, jumping ahead 54-40.

“We stopped executing,” Cook said of the lapse in Freeport’s play that allowed the Patriots to go up by 14. “We stopped boxing out; they were able to get some easy second-chance opportunities. Letting people cut right in front of our face, defensively, and our offense got stagnant, easily defended.”

Freeport ratcheted up their intensity eventually, notching 12 while holding G-NG to just three more before the final buzzer, but their efforts weren’t quite enough. Despite desperate, quick scoring by Qualls in the closing seconds, the Patriots held on to the lead and took the victory.

Deschenes advised his boys, in those last moments of heavy Falcons pressure, to maintain their focus. “It’s composure. Only lay-ups – we took a few ill-advised shots at the end that gave them a little bit of life, so we’ve got to be a little cleaner to end games, if we want to win some more.”

“I feel we’re getting better,” Deschenes said. “We’ve had a lot of bumps in the road this year, but we have some winnable games. We can keep getting better; we’re young. It’s a good way to bounce into next season.”

Gray-New Gloucester’s Andreas Kariotis leaps and lobs the ball through a squeeze of Freeport defenders. Kariotis added 15 for the Patriots in their victory over the Falcons.G-NG Senior Spencer Harriman shoots for two.6-foot-4-inch Patriots sophomore center Eric Anderson throws a shot up inside the paint.Falcon Chandler Birmingham looks to work the ball past Patriots defender Andreas Kariotis.Brady LaFrance approaches on the attack for Freeport.Freeport junior forward Brendan Qualls nailed six threes Saturday afternoon against Gray-New Gloucester, and totaled 26 points before the final buzzer. His performance wasn’t enough, however, to lift the Falcons over the Patriots’ combined efforts, and G-NG took the victory, 57-52.